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The Video Essay  is a joint project of Mubi and Filmadrid International Film Festival. Film analysis and criticism found a completely new and innovative path with the arrival of the video essay, a relatively recent form that has already its own masters and is becoming increasingly popular. The limits of this discipline are constantly expanding; new essayists are finding innovative ways to study the history of cinema working with images. With this non-competitive section of the festival both Mubi and Filmadrid will offer the platform and visibility the video essay deserves. The nine selected works will be shown from the 22nd till the 30th of June 2020 on Mubi's cinema publication, the Notebook. The selection was made by the programmers of Mubi and Filmadrid. Anna/Nana/Nana/Anna by Mark RappaportA tribute to actresses, approaching their presence in and out the screen, humanizing the icons. From the Ukrainian Anna Sten to the French Anna Karina,...

Two-fisted Hong Kong racketeer Clark Gable goes out on a limb to recover Susan Hayward’s husband, held prisoner in Red China. In a literal pirate vessel armed with a stolen cannon, Gable literally goes to war, risking his smuggling empire by half-kidnapping Michael Rennie’s Hong Kong cop. This lush CinemaScope action-travelogue-romance now comes off as comfort food movie viewing: familiar stars doing what they do best. It’s a German import from a Hollywood Studio whose library titles may no longer be licensed to hard media home video.

Soldier of Fortune

Region-Free Blu-ray

Explosive Media GmbH

1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date September 26, 2019 / Treffpunkt Hongkong / Available at Amazon.de

15.99 Euros Starring: Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Gene Barry, Alexander D’Arcy, Tom Tully, Anna Sten, Russell Collins, Richard Loo, Frank Tang, Jack Kruschen, Leo Gordon, Mel Welles, Robert Quarry.

Cinematography: Leo Tover

Film Editor: Dorothy Spencer

Original Music:...

Constance Cummings: Actress in minor Hollywood movies became major London stage star. Constance Cummings: Actress went from Harold Lloyd and Frank Capra to Noël Coward and Eugene O'Neill Actress Constance Cummings, whose career spanned more than six decades on stage, in films, and on television in both the U.S. and the U.K., died ten years ago on Nov. 23. Unlike other Broadway imports such as Ann Harding, Katharine Hepburn, Miriam Hopkins, and Claudette Colbert, the pretty, elegant Cummings – who could have been turned into a less edgy Constance Bennett had she landed at Rko or Paramount instead of Columbia – never became a Hollywood star. In fact, her most acclaimed work, whether in films or – more frequently – on stage, was almost invariably found in British productions. That's most likely why the name Constance Cummings – despite the DVD availability of several of her best-received performances – is all but forgotten.

Glenda Jackson: Actress and former Labour MP. Two-time Oscar winner and former Labour MP Glenda Jackson returns to acting Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson set aside her acting career after becoming a Labour Party MP in 1992. Four years ago, Jackson, who represented the Greater London constituency of Hampstead and Highgate, announced that she would stand down the 2015 general election – which, somewhat controversially, was won by right-wing prime minister David Cameron's Conservative party.[1] The silver lining: following a two-decade-plus break, Glenda Jackson is returning to acting. Now, Jackson isn't – for the time being – returning to acting in front of the camera. The 79-year-old is to be featured in the Radio 4 series Emile Zola: Blood, Sex and Money, described on their website as a “mash-up” adaptation of 20 Emile Zola novels collectively known as "Les Rougon-Macquart."[2] Part 1 of the three-part Radio 4 series will be broadcast daily during an...

Teresa Wright-Samuel Goldwyn association comes to a nasty end (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright in 'Shadow of a Doubt': Alfred Hitchcock Heroine in His Favorite Film.") Whether or not because she was aware that Enchantment wasn't going to be the hit she needed – or perhaps some other disagreement with Samuel Goldwyn or personal issue with husband Niven Busch – Teresa Wright, claiming illness, refused to go to New York City to promote the film. (Top image: Teresa Wright in a publicity shot for The Men.) Goldwyn had previously announced that Wright, whose contract still had another four and half years to run, was to star in a film version of J.D. Salinger's 1948 short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut." Instead, he unceremoniously – and quite publicly – fired her.[1] The Goldwyn organization issued a statement, explaining that besides refusing the assignment to travel to New York to help generate pre-opening publicity for Enchantment,...

'Cat People' 1942 actress Simone Simon Remembered: Starred in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie classic (photo: Simone Simon in 'Cat People') Pert, pouty, pretty Simone Simon is best remembered for her starring roles in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie Cat People (1942) and in Jean Renoir's French film noir La Bête Humaine (1938). Long before Brigitte Bardot, Mamie Van Doren, Ann-Margret, and (for a few years) Jane Fonda became known as cinema's Sex Kittens, Simone Simon exuded feline charm in a film career that spanned a quarter of a century. From the early '30s to the mid-'50s, she seduced men young and old on both sides of the Atlantic – at times, with fatal results. During that period, Simon was featured in nearly 40 movies in France, Italy, Germany, Britain, and Hollywood. Besides Jean Renoir, in her native country she worked for the likes of Jacqueline Audry...

Dorothy Arzner (1897-1979) was one of a kind in the history of American cinema, the only woman to carve out a professional career as a director in Hollywood's Golden Age. In its 62nd edition, the San Sebastian Festival pays homage to the work of Arzner, today considered a pioneer in women's incorporation to the film industry, proclaimed as a filmmaker of strong style and personality for which she earned undeniable prestige within the Hollywood studio system.

Born in San Francisco but raised in Los Angeles, Dorothy Arzner made her directorial debut with "Fashions for Women" (1927), going on the following year to become the first women ever to direct a talkie with Manhattan Cocktail (1928). Arzner directed 15 films throughout the 30s and the early 40s, working with Hollywood stars such as Clara Bow, Katharine Hepburn, Fredric March, Rosalind Russell, Claudette Colbert, Maureen O'Hara and Joan Crawford in comedies and melodramas with particular focus on female characters. In 1933 she became the first woman to join the Directors Guild of America and was its only female member for several decades. Although her name was progressively forgotten, Arzner's career was ratified in the 60s by feminist movements and received numerous tributes, including one by the Directors Guild of America in 1975. Today her films are not only newly appreciated for being an unusual exception in the history of American film, but also f or their intrinsic values. Arzner left her stamp on several films of refined visual style that questioned traditional sexual roles and the part played by women in society or which, according to certain critics, introduced veiled homosexual undertones to the rigid Hollywood structure of the time.

The retrospective dedicated by the San Sebastian Festival to Dorothy Arzner will feature her twelve surviving films. It is organised together with Filmoteca Española. To accompany the cycle, a bilingual (English and Spanish) book will be published on the filmmaker, written by Judith Mayne.

The Wild Party  Dorothy Arzner (USA) 1929 The explosive Clara Bow (in her first talkie) and the man who would become one of Arzner's favourite actors, Fredric March, star in this surprising and brazen film shot before the Hays Code of censorship was imposed upon Hollywood.

Sarah and Son  Dorothy Arzner  (USA) 1930 A melodrama that earned the leading lady, Ruth Chatterton, an Academy Award nomination for her part as an opera singer searching for the son she lost many years ago.

Anybody's Woman  Dorothy Arzner  (USA) 1930 A rather daring romantic comedy for its day; a lawyer and a chorus girl waken man and wife after a night on the tiles. All sorts of confusions ensue.

Honor Among Lovers Dorothy Arzner  (USA) 1931 A luxury cast (Claudette Colbert, Fredric March and Ginger Rogers) for a melodrama in which Dorothy Arzner looked at a rather unusual subject for films of the time: sexual harassment in the working environment.

Working Girls  Dorothy Arzner (USA) 1931 Adaptation of a play by the author popular in her day, Vera Caspary, this film represents yet another shrewd look at the world of women by Dorothy Arzner seen through the portrayal of two friends in search of work and a husband.

Merrily We Go to Hell Dorothy Arzner  (USA) 1932 The tale of an alcoholic author and the woman who rescues him is turned in Dorothy Arzner's hands into a romantic comedy taking yet another look at the role of women in a couple's relations.

Christopher Strong Dorothy Arzner  (USA) 1933 Katharine Hepburn embodies one of her typical spirited female characters in this eye-opening melodrama from Arzner, a full-on snub of the nose to the usual roles played by women in classic movies: the love affair between an MP and an aviatrix.

Nana Dorothy Arzner (USA) 1934 Dorothy Arzner adapted Émile Zola's classic novel into a film to flatter a would-be star soon forgotten by Hollywood, Anna Sten. Set in 19th century Paris, this is a curious foray by the director into period melodrama.

Craig's Wife Dorothy Arzner (USA) 1936 This melodrama sees another of the big Hollywood stars who worked under the orders of Dorothy Arzner, Rosalind Russell, play a domineering woman who marries a wealthy man for money and power.

The Bride Wore Red Dorothy Arzner (USA) 1937 Joan Crawford and a spectacular red dress by the famous designer Adrian star in one of Dorothy Arzner's most popular romantic comedies, a tale of love and luxury once again featuring an unforgettable female character.

Dance, Girl, Dance Dorothy Arzner  (USA) 1940 Maureen O'Hara and Lucille Ball wrangle in a professional and sentimental duel set in the world of show business and spiced up with musical numbers.

First Comes Courage Dorothy Arzner (USA) 1943 Dorothy Arzner's last film was her contribution to the warring efforts of the allies during World War II; a spy story where Merle Oberon brings life to an anti-Nazi resistance worker in Norway who must choose between love and duty.

Yasujiro Ozu's cinephilia has been well known for some time now, especially his love of American movies. His existent early films are filled with gags and posters directly referencing Hollywood cinema. Recently, I found an unusually specific citation.

I always thought this bit of dialog in Late Spring (1949) was strange. It happens between unmarried Setsuko Hara and divorcee Yumeji Tsukioka; they're discussing Hara's recent meeting with a potential husband. When asked what she thinks of him, Hara replies, according to the subtitle translation, that he "looks like that American...the man in that baseball movie," which Tsukioka identifies as Gary Cooper. No doubt they are talking about 1942's The Pride of the Yankees. However, then comes this odd joke:

A weird, roundabout joke. Especially since we have yet to see—and never will—the man Hara met and eventually marries. But, to take the joke even further, one may remember...

The Queen Of Versailles + Q&A | Nick Abrahams | Slapstick 2013 | Loco London Comedy Film Festival

The Queen Of Versailles + Q&A, London

Few recent documentaries have summed up the craziness of our times as well as Lauren Greenfield's The Queen Of Versailles. It focused on the wealthy Siegel family and their matriarch Jackie, whose attempts to build one of the largest private homes in America were stalled by the sub-prime meltdown. The film-makers and the Siegels apparently fell out, too. But what happened next? This one-off screening is the chance to find out, with both Greenfield and Jackie Siegel attending the Q&A.

Ritzy Picturehouse, SW2, Wed

Nick Abrahams, London

He recently received an award for his gorgeous Sigur Rós short film (in which Aidan Gillen, pictured, is guided by a talking snail), but Abrahams has been experimenting visually for the coolest bands for decades, including Huggy Bear, Stereolab, Leftfield,...

There's no such thing anymore as the "art" of the movie still, with images from movies now part and parcel of carefully orchestrated marketing or sales plans driving the films. They are, generally speaking, grist for the mill, and while the first look at an imminent blockbuster or secretive project can provide a temporary thrill, the sheer overwhelming pervasiveness and availability of images, all at the click of a button, means that enjoyment is a temporary thing. Movie stills aren't about the glamor of a production anymore, so much as placeholders until we can see the actual movie. And that's not to cast judgment on how things work -- after all, we're a movie blog and very much perpetrators of the cycle -- but how images from movies are used and how they are perceived, from inside the studio and out, has changed dramatically.

Flipping through the pages of Joel F.

The second in a short series celebrating the films of the Pathé-Natan company, 1926-1934. 

Fyodore Otsep (Russia), also credited as Fjodor Ozep (Germany), Fedor Ozep (Canada) and Fédor Ozep (France) is probably best known as co-writer of sci-fi epic Aelita (1924) and director of Soviet classic Miss Mend (1926). His work in Europe and America is harder to see, and the whole lot is rarely grouped together for consideration as a whole, the curse of itinerant filmmakers like Dassin, Siodmak, even Ophüls.

To decide whether this is merely a quirk of film history, or a full-on case of major artistic neglect, simply watch this clip:

Amok (1934) is the third of Ozep's Pathé-Natan films, and the most baroque. It's based on a story by Stefan Zweig (Letter from an Unknown Woman) later filmed in Mexico with less fidelity but plenty of gusto. It's a very weird orientalist fever dream.

Jean Yonnel,...

Ralph Bellamy on TCM: Sunrise At Campobello, The Awful Truth Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Carefree (1938) A psychiatrist falls in love with the woman he's supposed to be nudging into marriage with someone else. Dir: Mark Sandrich. Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ralph Bellamy. Bw-83 mins. 7:30 Am The Secret Six (1931) A secret society funds the investigation of a bootlegging gang. Dir: George Hill. Cast: Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown. Bw-84 mins. 9:00 Am Headline Shooter (1933) A newsreel photographer neglects his love life to get the perfect shot. Dir: Otto Brower. Cast: William Gargan, Frances Dee, Ralph Bellamy. Bw-61 mins. 10:15 Am Picture Snatcher (1933) An ex-con brings his crooked ways to a job as a news photographer. Dir: Lloyd Bacon. Cast: James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy, Patricia Ellis. Bw-77 mins. 11:45 Am The Wedding Night (1935) A married author falls for the beautiful farm girl...

Ralph Bellamy, Greer Garson, Sunrise at Campobello Ralph Bellamy was what many would call a "dependable" player: always there (nearly 100 movies), always capable, (almost) always losing the girl. Why Bellamy never became a major movie star is beyond me — especially considering that guys like James Stewart, Fred MacMurray, Dick Powell, Don Ameche, Joseph Cotten, etc. were top leading men of that era. Perhaps Bellamy was just both too good-looking and too intelligent-looking to keep Ginger Rogers from Fred Astaire (Carefree), Irene Dunne and Rosalind Russell from Cary Grant (The Awful Truth and His Girl Friday, respectively), and Anna Sten from Gary Cooper (The Wedding Night). All four films — in addition to 11 other Ralph Bellamy movies — will be presented on Turner Classic Movies on Sunday, August 14, as part of TCM's "Summer Under the Stars" film series. [Ralph Bellamy Movie Schedule.] Unfortunately, there are no TCM premieres, but included are a few lesser-known titles, e.g.

Elizabeth Taylor is Cleopatra. (From mptvimages.com.)The great film flops, Stuart Klawans writes in Film Follies, "string together one spectacular sequence after another, rarely troubling the audience with the demands of logic or inner development." But not all flops are that good: some are merely commercial misjudgments, others spectacularly unwise expressions of unfettered ego. Ishtar—the doomed Warren Beatty project that Peter Biskind writes about in the current issue—is the latter, a movie whose audience and appreciation has lifted it from undeniable fiasco to cult favorite. Here are ten other highlights of a history of hubris, sprinkled with moments of salvageable genius. Nana (1934) When Erich von Stroheim's Foolish Wives (1922) went grossly over budget, Universal duly advertised it as "The first million-dollar film" and hoped for the best. When Samuel Goldwyn's attempt to launch Russian actress Anna Sten as the new Greta Garbo—in Nana—had to...